Gordon J. Fielding

Performance evaluation for bus transit

Abstract Performance analysis has gained increased attention now that transit organizations are emphasizing efficiency objectives. Debates over both the number of indicators required and their method of selection are reviewed. Research upon which this paper is based uses FY 1980 Section 15 data to first identify and then test a set of performance indicators which are useful for evaluation of fixed route, motor bus transit. Four parallel data sets, based on transformations of the original data, and several exploratory factor analyses were used to detect the underlying structure of the data. Rigorous testing verified that the structure represented the most salient performance dimensions. A small subset of seven performance indicators was identified and tested as representative of these underlying dimensions. These indicators can be used together or individually to assess transit performance for a single system or for cross-sectional comparisons.

Measuring transit performance using data envelopment analysis

Transit managers, like managers of other public agencies, need to assess the performance of their system compared to peer agencies. This assessment must measure not only how efficient the agency is in producing transit service, but also how effective it is in having that service consumed. This paper uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) to develop a single measure for the efficiency and a single measure for the effectiveness of a transit agency relative to other agencies within the same peer group. By using a single measure for each of these criteria, this paper provides a more robust indicator of transit peformance than the widely used multiple ratio analysis performed in the Irvine Performance Evaluation Method (IPEM). The DEA model is applied to two transit agency peer groups--one serving large metropolitan areas and the other serving relatively small cities and large towns. These examples illustrate the importance of distinguishing between measures of efficiency and effectiveness as well as the sensitivity of the DEA model to the choice of input variables.

Performance indicators for transit management

Transit performance can be evaluated through quantitative indicators. As the provision of efficient and effective transit service are appropriate goals to be encouraged by federal and state governments, these goals are used to develop performance indicators.Three efficiency and four effectiveness indicators are described, together with two overall indicators. These nine indicators are analyzed for comparability utilizing operating and financial data collected from public transit agencies in California.Performance indicators selected for this study should not be viewed as final. Twenty-one performance indicators proposed by previous studies were reviewed. Theoretical considerations and unavailability or unreliability of data caused omission of several useful measures like passenger-miles. Circumstances such as improved data, emphasis upon goals other than efficiency and effectiveness, and local conditions might warrant the inclusion of indicators deleted from this research.

HIGH OCCUPANCY/TOLL LANES: PHASING IN CONGESTION PRICING A LANE AT A TIME

A consensus is emerging among transportation economists that the best way to deal with freeway congestion is to charge for driving during peak hours. The main barrier to implementation is political: drastic change is politically unpopular. This paper proposes a way of overcoming the political obstacles by phasing in congestion pricing over a period of many years.

Transit performance evaluation in the U.S.A

Performance of transit agencies in the United States improved during the 1980s. At the beginning of the decade, Americans had become disenchanted with transit; legislation was passed that required agencies to report performance and accept regular audits. Theory underlying these policies is examined in four components: dimensions for policy objectives, indicators, information systems and incentives. Three programs are examined: federal triennial reviews that monitor compliance with planning and grant requirements, California performance audits that analyze goals and track performance on five indicators and the Los Angeles program that encourages improvement by offering incentive payments for better-than-average performance. The California audits have been the most successful.

Typology for bus transit

Peer groups of similar transit systems are needed for comparative analysis of transit performance and facilitation of econometric analysis. Cluster analysis was used to construct 12 peer groups based upon size, average speed and peak-to-base ratios of urban, fixed-route motor bus transit systems. Analysis of variance, discriminant analysis and a decision tree typology confirmed differences in operating characteristics among the peer groups. The peer groups were also found to be significantly different on seven variables representing the major dimensions of transit performance. Performance profiles are given for each peer group, and suggestions are made for using the peer groups in performance evaluations.

Congestion Pricing and the Future of Transit

Congestion pricing provides opportunities for transit to become more self-reliant. Both the theory of congestion pricing and its use in congested US corridors are examined. A 5% increase in commuter demand for transit is estimated in suburban corridors. New opportunities for transit are required if transit is to remain competitive in the USA. Automobile commuting is faster and more convenient as well as generously cross-subsidized for most US urban commuters.

The Los Angeles Milkshed: A Study of the Political Factor in Agriculture

IT HE impress of political activities on the regionalization of American agriculture is readily apparent. Numerous programs designed to protect agricultural producers and to increase farm incomes have been established since 1933, and have created agricultural patterns that are no longer in accord with unimpeded economic progress. Geographers have not neglected this influence.I Together with agricultural economists, they have contributed toward a better understanding both of the impact of farm programs on agriculture and of the surveillance of their efficiency. The present paper is intended as a further contribution to the study of politics in agriculture, but whereas most previous studies have concentrated on federal crop support programs, the political influences investigated here are operating at the state and municipal levels. They are associated with state legislation that controls the production and pricing of milk, and with local land-zoning ordinances that facilitate the persistence of dairying near metropolitan centers. Although discussion is limited to a part of one state, the significance of the topic is much wider. Federal and state regulation in production and pricing is more extensive in the marketing of fluid milk than in that of any other agricultural commodity, and the theme here centered on California is applicable elsewhere. Supply areas constitute a better subject than political units for this type of study in agricultural geography, because the focus is on interregional competition as modified by political acts, rather than on the political acts themselves.

Restructuring land transport in New Zealand

Restructuring of governmental activities in New Zealand calls for public enterprises to operate in competitive environments. This has created problems for highways and urban passenger transport. Whereas the national airline has been privatized and railways corporatized, legislation for land transport has created a Crown agency that is expected to operate commercially within funding and policy constraints. The problems are assessed as Transit New Zealand attempts to allocate state funds between competing projects using commercial criteria. New roles have been legislated for regional agencies and local governments: they are expected to either privatize service delivery or create public corporations to maintain highways and operate passenger transport. Principles underlying restructuring are examined, and suggestions are made on how agencies might take advantage of opportunities.

California Transportation: Inventory and Prospects

California has a superb transportation system. The 171,000 miles of public access highways provide both feeder and arterial systems throughout the state and allow rail, air, and port facilities to operate more efficiently. Approximately 97 percent of the passenger miles and more than 80 percent of the ton-miles of freight are transported by autos, trucks, and buses using this highway system. But the system is aging. Many of the most heavily traveled routes have exceeded their 25 year “design life.” Surfaces are cracking and buckling, on ramps are too short for the larger trucks and buses, and use of off ramps is so far in excess of designed capacity that congestion backs up onto freewavs and arterial streets. Major renovations are required which will be costly and require the closing of facilities.